Rams @ Giants
Final Score: Rams 38, Giants 11
Writer: Callen Elslager (@callen_elslager on Twitter and Reddit)
For the first time in NFL history, we had a game end with a final score of 38-11 as the Los Angeles Rams trounced the New York Giants. Matthew Stafford continued his MVP candidacy with four touchdown passes spread throughout the big-name players on offense. The Rams’ defense made life awfully difficult for Daniel Jones and the continually banged-up Giants offense, which only got more banged up with an early ankle injury to rookie Kadarius Toney. This defense showed this difficulty by only allowing one late touchdown in the fourth quarter and picking off Jones a grand total of three times.
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford: 22/28, 251 yards, 4 TD, INT | 2 carries, 12 yards
Another week, another performance by Matthew Stafford that puts him back into the MVP conversation. Stafford took advantage of a great matchup against a banged-up Giants team and spread the ball throughout all his targets. Stafford took advantage of the opportunities he had with some goalie touchdown passes to both Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. While Stafford did not have many incompletions throughout the game, his lone interception was towards the end of the half as he threw the ball over the middle and off the hands of his intended target, and into the hands of the Giants’ defender. He was efficient and picked his spots, though those spots were pretty easy to come by against this defense.
Staff to Kupp = Magic. 🪄
📺 @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/pltAiMV1HI
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 17, 2021
Running Back
Darrell Henderson Jr.: 21 carries, 78 yards, TD | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 29 yards, TD
Sony Michel: 9 carries, 42 yards
With the game script suggesting a string run game for Los Angeles, Darrell Henderson put up one of his best games of the season, involved in both the run and passing game, breaking into some open space on multiple occasions. As seen below, he was also able to get in the end zone both via the ground and via the air. Even Sony Michel in his limited work looked impressive as his offensive line gave him room to work and put together a solid performance.
Keeping up with the Hendersons#FantasyFootball | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/zjIWNUZ2RA
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 17, 2021
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Cooper Kupp: 12 targets, 9 receptions 130 yards, 2 TD
Robert Woods: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 31 yards, TD
Tyler Higbee: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 36 yards
Van Jefferson: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 19 yards
DeSean Jackson: 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
What can be said about Cooper Kupp that has not been said already? After the Rams peppered Robert Woods with targets last week, Cooper Kupp returned right away as he was peppered with targets throughout including down in the red zone for his two touchdowns.
The Kupp is EXTRA full today 🤯 @CooperKupp
📺 @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/DF45H3gV3I
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 17, 2021
Staff. Woods. SIX. 🙌
📺 @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/D4T7ZdykVw
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 17, 2021
While Robert Woods did catch this touchdown, he resorted back to second in command with the massive uptick in work for Kupp. Unfortunately, Woods was not able to capitalize on some of the work he was given, as some of these targets were slightly off target leading to a more quiet day after one longer reception. In the same sense, Tyler Higbee received his fair share of short targets to keep drives moving a viable safety net throughout for Stafford.
While Van Jefferson did receive three receptions, one of those was for 18 yards, while the others were quick passes that were stopped close to or tight at the line of scrimmage, as neither he nor DeSean Jackson were able to break open deep downfield.
New York Giants
Quarterback
Daniel Jones: 29/51, 242 yards, 3 INT | 3 carries, 4 yards
With questions coming into the week as to whether Daniel Jones would clear concussion protocol in time to start this game, we could not have had the highest expectations for him in this matchup. If it’s even possible, Daniel Jones played below those expectations as he was plagued by constant pressure along with an increased number of attempts due to the change in-game script, forcing the Giants to throw to catch up to the Rams. This forced Jones to throw three tough interceptions, all seen below in these in-scripted tweets.
FIRST INT OF THE SEASON FOR @trapp07 😤
📺 @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/4NUbKZ1zIR
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 17, 2021
ANOTHA ONE 👀 @Trapp07 with his 2nd INT of the day!
📺 @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/oxUdOTLkUo
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 17, 2021
Running Back
Devontae Booker: 12 carries, 41 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 28 yards
Elijhaa Penny: 3 carries, 15 yards, TD | 2 targets, 1 reception, 1 yard
With the loss of Saquon Barkley, Devontae Booker took over as the bell cow for New York’s offense. He was involved in the passing game but he couldn’t get much going on the ground. He was even spelled for work by Elijhaa Penny, at the goal line for the lone touchdown for New York of the game. As the game script flipped to a more pass-heavy attack, the ground game had to be abandoned so that the Giants could try and catch up. They were clearly unsuccessful in that attempt and it was a sad day for the Giants’ offense all around. Booker and Penny are replacement level players and you’d be lucky to get any useful weeks out of either of them if you picked them up.
Penny takes it in 🙌
📺: @NFLonFOX & Giants App pic.twitter.com/45AFzZyeXp
— New York Giants (@Giants) October 17, 2021
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Sterling Shepard: 14 targets, 10 receptions, 76 yards
Dante Pettis: 11 targets, 5 receptions, 48 yards
Kadarius Toney: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards
Evan Engram: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 24 yards
Collin Johnson: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 21 yards
Kyle Rudolph: 2 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards
John Ross: 2 targets
Kadarius Toney carried the momentum from last week into the first drive, with three receptions immediately on the Giants’ first drive of the game. However, he would end up injuring his ankle which he was dealing with all throughout the week and supposedly during pregame warmups. With this injury, Sterling Shepard saw similar success to what he had prior to his own injury early in the season, latching back on as Daniel Jones‘ favorite target and the number one with all the injuries to this offense.
The most interesting uptick in targets after this Toney injury came to Dante Pettis, though these were not the most accurate of targets, including one late that ended up being one of Daniel Jones’ three interceptions. Another of these interceptions was intended for Evan Engram who was not as involved in the offense this week as the Giants had to play from behind and take some deeper shots with recovers such as Pettis and Colin Johnson, who made the best of the catchable targets he got. One more thing that did not find itself as part of the boxscore was the two-point conversion which was caught by Kyle Rudolph after the Giants’ lone touchdown of the afternoon.
— Callen Elslager (@callen_elslager on Twitter and Reddit)